Bevier House history set in stone

Suzanne Hauspurg, Administrator/Director of the Bevier House Museum on Rt 209 in Marbletown.

Not all stone houses, of which there are many in Ulster County, have equal historical significance.

The Bevier house in Marbletown, standing as it does as in imposing tribute to the birth of a nation, holds singular historical importance. Held privately for 223 years by descendants of the original Louis Bevier, the house honors not only colonial Dutch architecture, but more importantly, its role in the Revolutionary War.

Now the Bevier House Museum, it's open to the public during the warmer months.

About its importance, Museum Director Suzanne Hauspurg said, "The house was lived in, by one family for so long. It then went directly to the historical society."

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The Bevier house's real significance, however, is that it was the first "safe house," just six miles outside the city, following the burning of Kingston by the British in 1777.

"Kingston residents fled the city as the British army entered it. The Bevier house was the closest private home outside the city," Hauspurg said.

She said homeowner David Bevier, who served as an orderly at Fort Montgomery, arrived home to find his yard full of people.

"There were people in the yard, in the basement. And, his wife, Maria, had been feeding them for three days," Hauspurg said. "Its connection to the creation of the nation can't be underestimated."

The Bevier family donated the building in 1935 to serve as meeting space and to house the collections of local historical artifacts stewarded by the Ulster County Historical Society.

Following its acquisition, the next logical step for the historical society was to open it to the public. The museum is open weekends from May to October, noon to 5 p.m. Special events are planned for two weekends a month, Hauspurg said.

"This is an energetic board," Hauspurg said. There are 10 board members, who serve as volunteers, and two part-time employees.

Hauspurg, who has been director for two years, followed her mother, Eleanor Rosakranse (now deceased), onto the board.

The building had been well-maintained by the Bevier family, Hauspurg said. "Our big projects are replacing the roof and doing exterior work," she said.

The house

The Bevier house was in active use by seven generations of the Bevier Family, from about 1715 to 1939.

In 2002, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the home of the Ulster County Historical Society.

The original house is believed to have been constructed around 1680 by Andries Pieterse Van Leuvan.

Louis Bevier, son of the New Paltz patentee, bought the house in 1715 and

expanded the structure, operating it as part of a large farm. The property remained in the family's hands for seven decades and provided a comfortable income.

Hauspurg said the original part of the house, now the kitchen, was designed in the Dutch style and was probably a one-room, one-story structure.

David Bevier inherited the house and in 1751 began a big expansion, but the house was still on one level, Hauspurg said. He added the gambrel roof, which served as a sleeping loft, but it was not a complete second story, she said.

Hausburg said 1860-1885 brought big changes to the house. "The family added a complete second floor and raised the ceilings on the first floor," she said. Walls were removed on the first floor to make the small rooms larger.

By that time, the Beviers had just about stopped farming and had moved into more genteel occupations, Hauspurg said. "The house became much grander."

The house is completely furnished, mostly from the Victorian period, Hauspurg said.

The Victorian Parlor houses a collection of furnishings, decorative items and portraits of the Elting family, a member family in the Bevier lineage, as well as a collection of paintings by Julia Dillon and Jervis McEntee.

"We have a wonderful art collection," Hauspurg said. She said Dillon painted in the Hudson River style and her work is on permanent display.

The dining room is set with more period furniture, paintings and several different china motifs from various artisans.

Upstairs in the house are two bedrooms, one furnished for children, the other for adults. Both contain personal items showing examples from the colonial era through early 19th century.

Dutch Colonial is a style of architecture characterized by gambrel roofs, with curved, flaring eaves along the length of the house.

The eaves extend over the long sides, resembling a barn. The early settlers' homes were usually a single room. When the home was enlarged, additions were added to either end (or short side) and sometimes a porch along both long sides.

Walls were made of stone and a chimney was located on one or both ends. Homes of wealthier residents had double-hung sash windows with outward swinging wood shutters and a central double door.

"We have a massive collection, of furnishings and artifacts," Hauspurg said. "We are still receiving donations from families in the area for the collections," she said.

A tool room, organized by and dedicated to the knowledgeable Peter Sinclair holds the most extensive collection in the Hudson Valley of farm and homestead equipment, many of which are demonstrated to the public.

The museum's collection includes farm implements, home furnishings and décor.

"The museum has tools from all over Ulster County," Hauspurg said. "The tool collection and the colonial kitchen are of top interest to visitors and historians," she said.

Early examples of colonial pottery, metal work and woodcrafts created in Ulster County are also on display. It also includes the earliest-known land grant map for Ulster County.

"We have so much from all over Ulster County," Hauspurg said. "The collections cover a lot of the things that happened here."

The Civil War room houses the largest collection of Civil War artifacts on public display in Ulster County. There are field drums, documents, photographs, clothing, maps and arms that help to tell the story of how Ulster County residents participated in the Civil War. The display is changed regularly to feature different aspects of the collection, Hauspurg said.

Hauspurg said the Civil War collection was donated by Will Plank, who was one of the few who was issued a permit to collect memorabilia from the actual battlefields.

"Plank collected artifacts from both the Union and Confederate armies," Hauspurg said. "We have original documents signed by President Lincoln."

The museum displays a series of additions and renovations that explain its history and provide context for the artifacts donated by the family and numerous others.

The Bevier family

According to the Louis Bevier Family Papers of The Rutgers Collection (1687-1921), which were transferred to the Huguenot Historical Society in 1963, not a great deal is known about the original Louis Bevier. It's believed he was a French Huguenot and probably born near Lille, France in the late 1640s.

Along with thousands of other French Protestants, Louis fled France in order to avoid persecution by the Catholic monarch King Louis XIV.

The exact route of his escape is unknown, but it has been ascertained that Louis and his family arrived in the German City of Winden in the 1660s.He married Maria LeBlanc in the town of Frankenthal , near the city of Speyer .

Then, according to the Bevier papers, Louis next shows up in the records when he joins 11 other Huguenot refugees, adding his signature to the New Paltz Patent granted by English Royal Gov. Edmond Andross in September 1677. He is active in local military and in civic affairs.

However, in 1689, Louis' wife, Marie, died leaving him with seven children to raise alone. According to the Rutgers papers, a local story holds that sometime after his wife's death, Louis returned to Europe to claim his portion of her inheritance. One story of uncertain merit, the papers note, is that while in France Louis meets his uncle, a Catholic, who on recognizing him, refuses to speak to his renegade nephew.

However, Louis' relatives in Europe made him a wealthy man. In 1712, his property was assessed at 300 English pounds, making him the richest man in New Paltz. This wealth allowed Louis to purchase lands in Wawarsing and Marbletown for his sons to settled on and raise their own families.

Louis Bevier's fifth son, also named Louis, was born in 1684. He married Elizabeth Hasbrouck, daughter of Jean Hasbrouck and Anna Deyo, in 1713 at the Reformed Dutch Church in Kingston. Tradition holds that the young couple lived at the home of Elizabeth's father until 1715, when they relocated to Marbletown. He also was active in the military and civic life. Elizabeth gave birth to their only son, also named Louis, who grew up to be active in community and military affairs.

This Louis' oldest son, David, was born in the town of Rochester in 1746.

In 1775, he signed the Articles of Association and joined the Ulster County Third Regiment, where he served as adjutant. His regiment, under the command of Gen. James Clinton, was stationed at Fort Montgomery in 1776 and Bemis Heights in 1777.

In 1778, David married Maria Hasbrouck (1751-1816), daughter of Abraham Hasbrouck and Catherine Bruyn at Stone Ridge. They had six children.

It is David Bevier who is known for the house he built at Marbletown that still stands and is owned and operated as a museum by the Ulster County Historical Society.

The Bevier House Museum is open May-October from noon-5 p.m. Longer during special events.